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Choosing special interests over jobs, energy security
Americans need jobs. In his rejection of the Keystone Pipeline permit, the president killed approximately 100,000 jobs, and he killed the jobs of the steel workers who would build the 1,700 miles of pipeline in Arkansas. His actions show that he also intends to kill the oil industry.
The Keystone XL pipeline is a 1700-mile, $7 billion non tax-payer funded pipeline which would deliver an additional 700,000 barrels of oil from Canada to refineries in the United States each day. The project would create an immediate 20,000 construction jobs and at least another 130,000 long-term jobs by conservative estimates. The pipeline would also mean less dependence on Hugo Chavez's Venezuelan oil.
With 8.5 percent national unemployment, it is unfathomable that anyone would turn away 130,000 jobs and continue to increase reliance on the resources of foreign nations, but this is exactly what the president is doing. Worse yet, he is doing so to appease special interests. President Obama chose to disregard common-sense recommendations from a panel he appointed and caved to the pressure of environmental groups. It is time the president worried about jobs on Main Street instead of his job at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The president has blatantly shown his disregard for the well-being of the American people.
The president’s own Council on Jobs and Competitiveness called for an ‘all in’ approach to energy development. This bipartisan commission said energy jobs are the way forward to create jobs and decrease our dependence on foreign energy. The Keystone pipeline is the way forward, and President Obama vetoed it.
When faced with the facts, it is obvious where President Obama’s loyalties lie: not with the people of America, but with radical special interests. Instead of fighting for American jobs and energy security, the president is catering to fringe groups and interests and ignoring the common sense approach to restoring America to economic security. The president’s intentions are perfectly clear. Unless they are government-created jobs that do not interfere with the agenda of their special interest supporters, this administration is clearly not interested in employing people, even if it means sending precious resources to China while risking our economic and national security by continuing our dependence on oil from unfriendly nations.
Even Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper responded to President Obama’s unsound decision to reject the pipeline, expressing “profound disappointments.” Prime Minister Harper also reaffirmed that Canada will continue to export more of its oil to China.
The President blames Congressional Republicans for his administration’s decision to reject the pipeline permit. That is ludicrous. The administration has had three years to study this pipeline, but for some reason he declared the bipartisan 60-day decision timeline for the permit “arbitrary” and “insufficient.” The president simply fails to take responsibility for any of his decisions — even when they come with his signature, he always points the finger at somebody
This has to end. The President must take responsibility for his actions, and he must stop driving our nation’s economic future into the ground. Greece cannot pay its bills. Italy is in dire need of a bailout as well, it would take Ireland 14 years to pay off their debt if they dedicated 100% of their nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to paying debt, and Portugal is on the verge of economic collapse. President Obama’s comedy of errors is leading us down the same frightening path. His big government policies, like rejecting the Keystone pipeline permit and establishing the Cement MACT rule, will only speed up that process. The American people deserve better, and need someone who will rebuild our economy and unite us.
Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) represents the Second Congressional District of New Mexico. He is a member of the Financial Services Committee and Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus.
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